The Heartless Magician
by Wayfinder823
Summary: "She lost her heart to the darkness, but her Ka still lives on, through you. You and Mana are connected. She needs you." - The story of a girl that was never supposed to exist. **Canon.**
1. Chapter 1

Summary: "She lost her heart to the darkness, but her Ka still lives on, through you. You and Mana are connected. She needs you." - The story of a girl that was never supposed to exist.

Author's Note: First and foremost, yes, I am reposting this, because the first one was horribly written, so I rewrote it. This still isn't great, but I think it is a lot better than the original one that was up here. Second: Kingdom Hearts II references are made within this fanfic, however, _no characters _from Kingdom Hearts will appear in this.

I am, however, making this as canon as I can, regardless of the addition of characters. They shouldn't change the original story that much, and I'm hoping it can explain some background with the Dark Magician Girl and the connection between her and Mana better. (Odd, I know, but I figured I'd try.) This is my first fic, fyi.

This part takes place sometime after Dungeon Dice Monsters and BEFORE Yugi's duel with the possessed Bandit Keith.

Disclaimer-I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! in any way, shape, or form. The characters and themes belong to their creator, Kazuki Takahashi and their producers. I own nothing other than my OC's. Enjoy!

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**The Heartless Magician**

Life beyond the shadows is more than just a place for lost souls. It's also a sanctuary for monsters that dwell in darkness. They linger in the shadows waiting for the moment their master calls for them, summoning them to battle. However, deep within the shadows subsists a manse, a home for _higher _monsters; monsters with a duel identity that are able to think and fight for themselves.

These monsters dress themselves in uniform black cloaks that hide their faces from one another. The whole dozen of them congregate daily to take on tasks provided by the boss, who rarely associates himself with his comrades.

One awkward cloaked figure, the smallest and newest of the bunch, entered the dimly lit lounge. Her colleagues spread throughout the colorless room, quietly talking to one another of things that were of matter to them. The many white entangled torches that hung along the walls provided illumination. The smallest member of the group dawdled at the entrance for a moment, searching for the smallest ounce of color, but despite the lack of light, everything gave off a whitish glow. Perhaps, that was the reason why the mansion was always so dark, so the whiteness of the whole mansion wouldn't cause them to go blind.

"Sakura," a deep, slow, and gruff voice called. The small hooded figure looked up to see a tall hooded man approaching her from the other side of the room. Only a small fraction of his face shown from under his hood, which had always remained expressionless. There was something about his presence that made it appear as if he owned the place, like a manager in a work environment.

"Sakura, you and Avery will be visiting a new place today. You'll probably need this," the tall man pulled out a card from his pocket and handed it to the newbie.

The beginning apprentice studied the card that was given to her. The base of the card was a burnt orange color and in the center was a picture of a girl with long luscious hair that was as gold as the sun. She wore blue and pink clothing that hung off her shoulders with a matching hat, and in her right hand, she held a small staff that matched her outfit. Around her neck, she wore a golden necklace with a ruby in the center and her emerald green eyes seemed to sparkle.

"What is this fo-?" the man was gone before the girl could ask her question. Shrugging, she stuffed the card into her pocket and left to prepare for the day.

Through these shadows, these higher monsters can travel anywhere in a matter of seconds, anywhere that contains vast energies of darkness. A dark cloud appeared from thin air in the deserted alleys of Domino City. Two cloaked figures, a taller one and a shorter one emerged from the shadows.

"All right, now lets just do what we gotta do then leave." The taller one said to the other while taking off his hood, revealing a face of a man with long blood-red hair that was spiked and came down to the middle of his back. He turned to see his partner and gave a questionable look. "What are you doing?" His partner was taking off her long black coat uniform, revealing a black and blue boat neck with the sleeves fluttering at the shoulders with matching shorts, accompanied by a silver belt. Two small strips of pink cloth drape on either sides of her hips, along with a light blue cloth tied around her waist, draped in the same manner, and black and blue bell arm sleeves hung on her arms.

"I'm hot." The girl answered. The temperature difference between here and the manse was incredible! The manse always remained a low, cool temperature and the cloaks are what kept them warm. Even though the sun was beginning to set, the streets felt hot to the girl.

The girl shielded her eyes to the newfound light; she were not used to sudden burst of brightness, even if it was sunset out. This was the first time that the red headed man had seen the girl's complete face in actual light. He did not realize that she had emerald eyes, and that her dark brown hair was sporadically arranged and jutted downwards in all directions, or how light her skin was.

"Are you ready?" The girl asked, as her eyes adjusted to the light.

"Yeah. Let's get going. I don't feel like making this an all night event." The red headed man said. "Remember what the boss said-"

"I know, I know. I've been around people before." The girl said waving off her partner's reminders. "Who are we looking for this time, anyway?"

"We're just doing basic recon." Her partner explained. "We might even catch ourselves another recruit, if we're lucky."

The girl's jaw slightly dropped as she entered the streets of Domino. Never, has she seen so much color in one place. It amazed her. Instead of taking mental notes and analyzing the area, she allowed herself to relish in the warm colorful surroundings.

"Huh? What this?" The brunette asked looking at a bright poster hanging in a store's window. The poster was a picture of an incredible large white intimidating dragon with shimmering bright blue eyes. On the top and bottom in dark blue lettering said: "Duel Monster Cards on Sale Now!"

"I've seen ten of these all ready," said the red headed man rubbing the back of his head. The girl cocked her head to the side as she heard two younger boys from across the street conversing with one another, each holding some sort of stack of cards in their hands.

"And look at my Corroding Shark monster card I got," one said to the other. His friend "ooo"ed and "ahh"ed at the sight of the new card.

"Must be quite popular," commented the red head.

"What is it, exactly?" The girl asked.

"Who knows? Let's keep going, though."

As the two walked through the city, the more the girl noticed the different Duel Monster advertisements posted everywhere; however, one pink swirly poster caught the girl's attention. The poster had pictures of different female duel monsters, but it was who she saw in the picture that gave her pause. The girl pulled out the card she had received earlier and compared it to the one in the poster.

"Avery, look," the monster on the poster and on the card matched. "I thought this was some sort of weird I.D. card, but . . . Why would they-? She looks like me. What is this?"

The red headed man apparently named Avery studied the poster a bit more. "Hmmm…"

The brunette gasped. "Avery, look at this one," she pointed to the poster next to the one they were looking at. This one was blue and white and had pictures of different warriors, but she pointed to one in specific. The one she pointed to was a picture of a knight in a long dark blue cape that came to his ankles and gold and black armor that protected his body. Both, the shoulder wear and the knight's helmet extended to a long point at the end. "He looks like you."

The sound of a bell dinged as two kids walked out of the store with their arms full of Duel Monster cards.

"With these new cards, my deck will be unbeatable."

"Mine too! Duel Monsters is the best!" The second said.

The girl turned back to the poster. "Deck? So . . . This is a game? But why do these monsters look so much like us?"

"They don't look _that_ much like us," Avery said turning away. "Just forget about it. There's still more reconnaissance to be done."

"Avery!" The girl exclaimed. "This game isn't suspicious to you? Don't you think we should look into it?"

Avery shrugged his shoulders. "I wouldn't waste my time. We're here on a mission, not to play childish games."

The girl groaned as her feet reluctantly followed her partner around the city. Saxon said that she might need this card, but for what? What is it? What can it do? Why does it look so much like her? She had so many questions, and she didn't know how to answer them.

They turned the corner and saw crowds of people slowly beginning to leave a large building of some sort. By the entrance was a large model of a daunting white dragon with flickering bright blue eyes. Another one could be seen hanging in the air by a large window in the building, giving off the illusion that it was flying above the people below.

"Kaiba Land . . . ?" Avery read the arched sign above.

"Must be some kind of theme park," the girl said. "I've seen that dragon on a poster earlier. It must be some type of Duel Monster. Do you think this is where they gather to play the game?"

"Maybe," said Avery.

An older man wearing a green hat and a bushy mustache walked past the two strangers, looking very interested with whatever story he was reading in the newspaper in his hands, but the girl couldn't help but read the large bold headline as he walked past:

_President of Industrial Illusions, Pegasus J. Crawford, Defeated. Yugi Mutou New King of Games_.

"King of Games?" the girl said softly to herself with a touch of mockery.

Avery waved his arm, signaling that they needed to continue.

"We can't keep getting distracted," said Avery. His voice was soft but stern. "With this many people, our potential enemy could be hiding anywhere."

"Hey, Avery, look," the girl said bending down to pick up something by her foot, completely disregarding everything Avery had just said. It was a card with a picture of a cartoon-like alligator wearing red and black armor with claws on the ends over his scaly green skin and a wide cutlass sword in its right hand. "It's one of those cards-"

"That's my card you thief!" a voice from behind accused. "Who do you think you are going around stealing other people's cards?"

"Whoa," the girl said softly, amazed over how protective these people were with these cards. "I just-"

"I challenge you to a duel!" The boy said. He was about the same height as the girl and wore a yellow dress shirt under his black and green argyle sweater vest.

"What? I'm not - I don't - _duel_?" the girl's face drained of color.

_Now he wants to shoot me just for picking up his card? What's with this place? _The girl thought to herself.

"Yeah, Duel Monsters. Don't think for a second that you can beat me. I haven't lost a single duel yet."

A sense of relief overcame the brunette. "Let me tell you something, preppy, if you think your pathetic little cards will sav-"

"I think you got us mistaken, kid." Avery interrupted, putting his hand on the girl's shoulder. "You see, she and I don't "duel.""

The boy took a step back, as if what Avery said had stunned him. "Don't duel? How can you be in Domino City and not duel?"

"Look, kid," Avery said a bit more hotly and snatched the card from the brunette's hand. "Just take your card and go!"

Smirking, the kid took his Alligator Sword card and left with his nose pointed high in the air.

"All of that for one card?" The girl said sounding rather amazed.

Avery chuckled. "Saxon wasn't kidding when he called this place, the City of Games."

"Hmmm . . ."

"What?"

"It's just - I think there's much more to this card game than meets the eye."

"Oh! Would you forget about the stupid cards?" Avery exclaimed.

"Avery, the cards look just like us! Aren't you the slightest bit interested?"

"Of course I am, but you know the boss's orders. You do the mission and the mission only. It doesn't matter if the cards do or don't look like us. Our only focus is to get the enemy, understand?" The girl nodded. Avery looked up at the night sky and groaned. "How about we split up? You search south, I'll stay here and search north. Meet back at the spot in an hour?"

"Fine," the brunette said.

"Sakura," the red headed man said before the two parted. "Be careful."

The brunette named Sakura nodded and continued on her way on her half of the city to investigate. Nevertheless, she was not alert to the surroundings around her. She was more interested in the small piece of thick paper that she held in her hand.

"Looking for something?" A confident smooth voice asked. Sakura looked up from her hand and saw a suspicious man lingering in the shadows.

"Who are you?" she demanded.

The man smiled mischievously as he released a card from between his two fingers with great force towards Sakura, who barely caught it. The street lamps provided enough light for the girl to make out the picture on the card. It was a picture a man dressed in dark royal purple robes and armor with a tall pointed matching hat, and a long turquoise staff in his right hand.

"The answers are in the cards." The man said softly but darkly. It was then Sakura noticed that he was now standing not too far from her. His dark black hair came past his shoulders and the rest of his body covered in a black robe that blended with the night. But it was his intriguing periwinkle blue eyes seemed almost familiar.

"What? Uhh-!" the man vanished in thin air, leaving not a trace behind him. Sakura looked around to see if anyone else saw what happened, but to her luck, not a soul was in sight. She looked back down at the two cards now in her hands.

_The answers are in the cards? What's that mean? Who was that guy? _She thought to herself, when she finally looked up, and noted that a tiny shop with the lights still on inside stood not far from her.

_Am I supposed to learn how to play? _She thought stepping closer to the Kame Shop.

The door chimed open as Sakura walked inside. All along the shelves were different brightly colored boxes for different games and in the window cases beneath were colorful packages of cards for different games, but mainly Duel Monsters cards. At the end of the store was small counter with an opened collection book of rare cards beside the cashier.

At first, the store appeared empty, but then she heard an old crackly voice from the back say, "I'll be with you in a moment." Sakura took this time to search for what she really wanted.

A short old man wearing dark wash overalls and a black bandana over his spiky gray hair exited from out a back closet and placed himself behind the counter. With a smile, he asked, "Hello. May I help you?"

"Uh-yes." Sakura answered, picking out a book from one of the racks titled: _A Duelist Guide: Secrets and Strategies to Winning Duel Monsters. _

"Ahh, learning how to play Duel Monsters, I see?" the old man said. "It's quite a complex game, you know? One of my favorites." The cash register ringed and the total came out on a small screen. "That'll be thirty yen." The brunette handed him the total amount of money and began to flip through the pages of her new purchased book, not really looking for anything in particular, just seeing the colors flash before her eyes.

"I'm just curious," the girl said closing the handbook. "You've obviously have played Duel Monsters before. So what your strategy? Are they anywhere as good compared to the ones in this?"

The old man began to blush. "Ho, oh, the strategies in that book are good, but they're the real basic strategies. The real strategies form once you and your cards have a real bond."

"Bond?" the girl questioned.

"Yes. Once you have faith in the heart of the cards, and trust in your deck-that-is when your real strength will show."

Sakura placed her hand over her chest, as she always did for no real reason.

_Faith? Trust? Heart? What is that? _Sakura thought to herself.

"Thank you," she said and turned to exit the store, when suddenly, the door burst open, causing Sakura to hide behind the door.

"Grandpa! I'm home!" a voice said from the door as it chimed. "Huh? Oh-" the door closed, revealing Sakura pinning herself against the wall of the store. "I'm sorry! I didn't see you there," the boy who apologized was very short and had crazy spiked hair. He wore a typical blue school uniform, and around his neck hung a upside-down gold pyramid like thing that hung from it's lace, and on the front was an eye that starred out vaguely, which seemed strangely familiar, as if she's seen that odd piece of jewelry before. Beside him was a tall blond hair boy also wearing a school uniform. "Are you all right?"

Sakura could feel her face go pink with embarrassment. "Yeah, I'm fine." She said waving it off.

"Are you learning how to play Duel Monsters?" the short kid asked, looking at the handbook in the girl's hand.

"My grandson, Yugi here, just got back from Duelist Kingdom," the old man said with a proud smile on his face.

"That's right," the blond hair boy said flexing his arms to reveal his muscles. "I came in second place."

Sakura nodded her head, trying to looked impressed.

"I'm Katsuya Jonouchi," the blond said, ruffling his hand through his poofy hair. "Are you new around here?"

"More like visiting," said Sakura, trying to avoid further conversation.

"Well, maybe we can show you around, sometime."

Sakura pulled open the door, but just before leaving the shop she said, "Thanks, but I do pretty well on my own."

"Please, come again!" She heard the old man call just before the door to the shop closed.

The whole rest of the way home, she starred at the two cards in her hands.

_What is this game all about? _She thought to herself.

"Did you find anything useful?" Avery asked, interrupting her troubled thoughts.

"Huh? Oh," the girl shook her head no. "Nothing out of the ordinary."

"Me neither," said Avery, broadening the shadow portal. "Let's go home."


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Note: This chapter takes place during Episode 51 "Mystery Duelist" (or the Broken Millennium Puzzle in the Japanese version.)

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**2. The Man in Black**

When Sakura entered the bland lounge the next morning, more than half of her colleagues were gone. Those that remained didn't acknowledged her presence as she took a seat on the white couch. Avery's sat in the couch parallel to her, his face hidden not only behind his hood, but behind a card, a Duel monster card to be in correct.

_Just forget about the stupid card game, huh? _Sakura thought to herself.

"Sakura," a deep slow and ruff voice called from behind. Sakura turned to see a tall cloaked man with only a small fraction of his face shown from under his hood, the same part of his face that she's seen plenty of times before and knew him to be Saxon.

"Sakura, we need you to go back to Domino City. An enemy of ours has decided to show up. Team up with Larxy and eliminate him immediately."

Sakura grumbled to herself. She didn't particularly like Larxy, but orders are orders.

Saxon turned on his heel to leave, but stopped halfway though his turn on pivot. "Remember, Sakura, keep your temper."

Sakura bit her tongue to help refrain from telling off her second-in-command leader. Ever since they adopted her into the group, all they've ever told her was to keep her temper down. It was as if releasing the dark power inside her would ruin everything. She didn't understand how, everyone else in the group could release their dark power anytime they wanted. Why was she any different?

"I'm waiting!" shrieked an annoying soprano voice. Larxy, a tall blond with icy cold blue eyes stood by an all ready opened black and purple shadow portal. Grumbling, Sakura followed Larxy through.

"Why do they always have to pair me with the baby?" Larxy wondered aloud as they arrived in the deep alleys of Domino. "Might as well just give me a solo mission; that way I don't have to worry about protecting anyone."

"I'm not weak!" Sakura defended. Larxy waved her hand with a smirk on her face, as if shedding off Sakura's last comment. "Believe what you want. That won't change anything."

"I can fight too, you know!" Rage began to grow within Sakura. This is exactly the reason why she hated going places with Larxy. Larxy always thought she was better than everyone else, when in reality, Sakura found her to be one of the weakest of the bunch. Apparently, Larxy could see Sakura was all ready getting frustrated.

"Tempter, temper," the blond snickered. "It's no wonder the boss is always telling you to keep it down."

Sakura gave Larxy a disdainful glare. "Let's just do the mission and get out of here."

"Fine by me," said the blond beginning to lead the way. "Oh, and Sakura, _I'll_ be doing the fighting around here-obviously." She laughed while Sakura rolled her eyes, hoping that their target wasn't far, so the sooner she could go home.

After a few minutes of wandering around aimlessly in the alleys, Larxy suddenly pinned herself against the brick wall, Sakura followed suit.

"You won't get away with this, you creep!" a young boy's voice screamed, shortly followed by a small boy with spiky tri colored hair ran past, completely oblivious to the two girls hiding against the wall.

"Hey, that's-"

"Shh!" Larxy hushed.

Sakura lowered her voice to a whisper. "He might be chasing after our target,"

"Doubt it," said Larxy quite quickly. "Our target could probably care less about meddling with the people here. For all I know, we most likely have the same objective. We just have to make sure we complete ours first."

"Who do you think that boy was chasing?" asked Sakura.

"Does it matter?" Larxy said in an icy tone. "Whoever it was, they surely wanted him to find them." Her fingers pointed to a red arrow that hung on the walls of the alley possibly leading the way to where the culprit was.

"Well, maybe we should help him-"

"You don't listen very well, do you?" spat the blond. "That boy's problems have nothing to do with the mission. Now are you going to help me find our target, or am I doing the whole thing myself?"

Sakura didn't say anything but continued to follow Larxy through the alleys. Left and right, up and down, and left and right some more. Hours have past and Sakura began to feel that they had searched every alley in Domino City, and still no sign of the target anywhere.

"This is stupid!" Larxy complained. "He's not anywhere!"

"Maybe we should have followed those arrows. They could have been meant for us, instead of that kid."

Larxy growled then cussed quietly to herself.

"Yugi!" a voice called in the distance. "Yugi! Where are you?" "Yugi!" Two different voices added into the calling.

"Hunh." Sakura said under her breath. "Looks like someone's been messing with the arrows." She noticed the arrows now pointing all over the place in complete nonsense.

Sakura tensed up as she heard a swishing sound from behind.

"Who's there?" she demanded whipping around as fast as she could. From afar, a figure also dressed in black with a hood covering his face waved at the two girls, and then broke out into a run the opposite direction.

"That's him!" Sakura shrieked. "That's our target!"

"I got this!" Larxy screamed chasing off after the target. Her blond hair began to turn a deep shade of purple and a green gem in the middle of her forehead began to appear. Larxy had released her dark form. Something that the boss for some reason wouldn't allow her to do. The only option Sakura had left was to chase after them.

Larxy let out a high-pitched scream in order to unleash an attack. A wave of black and silver liberated from her hands towards the foe. The man in black stopped running and turned towards Larxy's attack. He bent down on one knee and shielded the attack with his hands, almost as if he collected all of Larxy's magic in his hands and then pushed the force back at Larxy. The force of the attack ended up hitting a nearby dumpster not far from Sakura, causing the inside trash to erupt into flames. Sakura shielded her face with her arm from the explosion; coughing from the newfound smoke that surrounded her and small pieces of burning ash landed on her arm.

Sakura looked up blindly, trying to see through the smoke, which wasn't as thick as her lungs felt it was. There, no more than ten feet away was the man in black, their target, staring at her. Sakura figured Larxy was probably running around trying to gain better distance for her next attack, but why wasn't the man taking advantage of how close these two were? Why didn't he attack her all ready? Sakura thought that if this man wasn't going to take up the advantage, she would. Sakura raised her arms in the air, allowing the dark power within her to grow. She didn't care if she was breaking the rules. She knew how to fight, and she wasn't just going to sit there, useless.

"_Stay there!_" The man in black bellowed, his left arm perpendicular from his body, facing Sakura. Sakura felt an invisible force come upon her, paralyzing her. Her dark transformation came to a halt. The man in black searched his surroundings until suddenly, a flash of purple appeared in front of him. He lifted up his right arm stiffly, his hand opened. Larxy unleashed a scream of pure agony, forcing her to fall at the man's feet before she could release her second attack.

"Tell your Master," the man in black said over Larxy's loud gasps for air; his tenor voice sounded threatening; to Sakura, it sounded almost familiar. "His plan will never work." With the snap of his fingers, his body vanished, leaving behind a small pile of cards that rained to the ground. The invisible force around Sakura broke and she could now move freely.

"Larxy," Sakura bent down beside her. Larxy, supporting herself on all fours and with her purple hair covering her new black beady eyes, said through gritted teeth. "He will pay for this."

Sakura offered her hand to help her up, but Larxy slapped it away. "I don't need a baby to help me."

Sakura backed off. She didn't want to argue with an angered Larxy. If Larxy wanted to do this the hard way, she could. Sakura didn't care.

She left Larxy to take care of herself while she went to check out the pile of cards that were left on the ground. Sakura recognized them all to be Duel Monster cards, some a brownish color, some a greenish color, and others a pinkish-purple color. She collected all the cards and counted a total of fourteen, however, it was the card that wound up on top that caught her by surprise. The card had a picture of a side-profile of a woman's face with long royal purple hair with multiple layers, and a green gem rested on the center of the woman's forehead. At the top of the burnt orange card titled the name: Witch of the Black Forest followed by four stars. The picture of the woman looked almost exactly like Larxy in her dark form.

_The answers are in the cards. _The mysterious man's voice said in Sakura's head.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sakura wondered aloud.

"_Sakura_," growled Larxy. Sakura noticed that she was finally on her feet again, but she was balancing herself with the help of the wall next to her. Her purple hair was slowly come back to its original blond color and the gem slowly faded away. The heaviness of her breathing hasn't changed. That man must have hit her hard. "_Let's-go_."

Sakura approached Larxy in a helping manner, but Larxy closed herself in. "_I'll do it myself!" _Sakura stepped back, allowing Larxy to lead the way back to the shadow portal to report back home.

"You didn't even bother to fight," the blond said softly, but her tone was full with ire.

"You were the one that said you would handle the fighting," reminded Sakura.

"You didn't even move the whole time. You just sat there!"

"He had me paralyzed. I couldn't move, even if I wanted to."

"Whatever," the blond said with annoyance in her voice. "You really are a baby."

"I AM NOT!" Sakura yelled.

Larxy just shook her head, "I don't know what the boss sees in you. We should've destroyed you when we had the chance."

Sakura didn't respond. To be honest, she didn't know what the boss saw in her, either.

The walk back was much longer than usual. If Larxy had let Sakura help her, they would have been home a long time ago.

"Fire," said Sakura softly, noticing the thick black clouds spewing into the air.

"Jonouchi! Honda!" a faint voice echoed in the distance. "Can you hear me?"

_Jonouchi? The boy from the Game Shop? _Sakura thought to herself. _I saw his friend running through here earlier. Could they be in the fire?_

Sakura began to jog towards the smoke.

"Where do you think you're going?" demanded Larxy. Sakura stopped. As much as she wanted to, she couldn't leave Larxy, not the state that she was in.

"I-" the brunette started but was interrupted by the sounds of the loud sirens going off in the streets, not far from where the two stood. "Never mind. We're almost there."

Slowly, Sakura followed Larxy back to the shadow portal, neither saying a word to each other.

* * *

"There you are," said Avery, leaning his body over the railing of the balcony. If Sakura got along with anyone in the group, it was Avery.

Sakura was also leaning over the railing, but studying a Duel Monster card in her hand, the one she thought looked so much like her. _The answer is in the cards._ The voice repeated in her head. _Have faith in the Heart of the Cards._

"Avery," said Sakura, not taking her eyes off the card. "What's a heart?"

Avery looked at Sakura for a moment before his dark brown eyes moved to the embers in the mantelpiece from the floor below.

"A vital piece of organ that separates us from everyone else."

"You mean, we don't have one?" asked Sakura, looking up at Avery.

Avery shrugged his shoulders. "It's hard to tell. Only you would know, right?"

Sakura placed her hand over her chest. "How do you get a heart, then?"

Avery chuckled. "Well, you listen to the boss. That's what we're all here for."

"Then why are we fighting people who are exactly like us? Don't they want a heart too?"

"You'd think," said Avery rubbing the back of his head. "Truth is, they are the ones that are trying to prevent us from getting a heart."

"Why? Why would they care whether or not we want a heart or not?"

Avery looked back at Sakura. "You ask a lot of questions, don't you?"

Sakura looked back at the card in her hand. "I just want some answers."

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**I know it's confusing, but I promise, it'll be summed up soon. Really, tell me what you think. Hate it? Like it? What do I need to work on most? That would help me out the most! Thank you so much for reading! :) Have a nice day :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**_3._ Ambush**

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**Author's Note: Sorry, it has taken me so long to post up this chapter. It's not as great as I'd like it to be, but I figured it was good enough. Hope you like it. Again, I'm still a newbie to writing. This chapter takes place during episode 52 "The Past is Present" Not much interaction with the Yugioh characters, but there will be more soon to come. Promise! Thank you guys for actually taking time of your day to read this. :) Have a good day! **

* * *

"What's going on?" asked Avery noticing the commotion going on in the white lounge.

"About time you showed up," a man with long back hair that hung down the middle of his back said in a raspy voice. "Mr. Big Shot here's handin' out everyone's mission for today."

"What else is new?" asked Avery.

"A target of ours showed up in Domino again. He wants four of us to go handle it." Larxy answered.

"Four? It's one man. He can't be _that_ powerful."

For once, the man hidden in the cloak in the center of the room smirked, something Sakura thought his facial muscles weren't capable of doing. In his usual slow and gruff voice he said, "then maybe you should think about why we're sending four of you."

Larxy growled. "I'm not weak! If Sakura would actually do something for once-"

"I told you all ready-_I-couldn't-move_!" Sakura interrupted.

"It doesn't matter what happened last time," said Saxon. "Just make sure this time, that man is destroyed."

"Well excuse me, _sir,_" said Avery, mocking Saxon. "I haven't seen you fighting any of our targets as of late. If we're so weak, why don't you go and take care of the target?"

The small fraction of Saxon's face went back to it's original expressionless look. "Just do your mission."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Avery said waving his hand. "Come on, lets go."

Larxy mumbled something to herself as she followed Avery through the black shadow portal, but Sakura was sure she caught the words "useless" and "baby."

The streets of Domino City were quiet, emptier than usual. Stores and local shops were closing under the brilliant orange and purple sky signifying that night was coming soon. The people mainly kept to themselves as they traveled to their desired destination.

"Lets split up," suggested Avery. "That way we cover more ground."

"What do we do when we find our target?" asked Sakura.

"You take him out," answered Larxy. "Oh, wait, I forgot. You can't."

Sakura raised her arm in the air, preparing to strike.

"_Cooool it_!" said Avery putting his arm in between Larxy and the heated Sakura, her dark brown hair was beginning to turn golden. "There are still people around."

Smirking, Larxy turned on her heel and began to head east. "I'll search over here."

"All right, Craig, you take south, I'll look up north, and Sakura, you can look out west."

"Who made you in charge of the party?" asked the man named Craig with long black hair that dangled all the way down his back like loose rope.

"Fine, you can go north." Avery said sounding rather annoyed.

"Heh," laughed Craig turning south, with a wave of his finger in the air he said, "be good little children now."

Avery turned to Sakura. "You think you can handle going by yourself?"

"I know how to fight." Sakura said for what felt like the umpteenth time.

"Yes, but this is your first time fighting an actual member of the other side. Their power is nothing compared to those in training."

"I'm not weak." Sakura reassured, turning west, the area she was assigned to search, "you even said so yourself." But before she could begin her search, Avery called her name again.

"Sakura, be careful out there. Those guys - the ones you're about to fight - they'll say anything to confuse you. Just remember what you're fighting for."

Sakura nodded. "To get a heart." With that, she headed down the streets, with her hands folded behind her head, trying to appear casual to the people around her. The few people that she past started to give her strange looks, but not the kind of "she-looks-funny" kind of look, but something more timid and nervous like a "please-don't-hurt-me" kind of look, instead. She couldn't figure out why, though. She looked just like them, what were they so scared about? Well, at least she _thought _she looked just like them.

From a distance, Sakura noticed a short boy with black spiky hair, red tips, and blond bangs beginning to cross the street, appearing to seem distracted over something. Regardless of his height, this Yugi boy sure wasn't hard to miss. A little further up the street was a rather tall girl with chestnut colored hair that came just past her chin. She started calling for the distracted boy.

"Hey! It's me, Yugi!" she started to run for the crosswalk, but the "Do-Not-Cross" sign light came on just as she approached. "Yugi, wait up!" She called once more. That boy must have been really distracted if he couldn't hear that girl's loud voice calling for him. What was she talking about? She was the one getting distracted. She had an enemy to look for!

" . . . himself may have competed in a game against a force that threatened to control the entire world." A woman with darker skin and dark raven hair that came past her shoulders with two locks draped in gold beads spoke though a TV screen, advertising for some kind of new museum she was about to open. She wore a golden necklace shaped like an wadjet eye, the same design she's seen on Yugi's pendant back at the Kame Shop last week.

"Hey! That's _my_ bike!" a young boy cried from across the street, pointing at the culprit who was riding away on his bike.

A blond woman who was escaping on the bike release a cold shrilling laugh. "Too bad."

"Larxy?" Sakura wondered out loud, her eyes following the bike thief heading northwest. "She must have found the target, but how-?" She couldn't waste time asking questions, if Larxy really did find the target, she had to go help eliminate him. Her feet broke into a run, following as best she could behind Larxy, who peddled beyond the alleys.

"_You're mine!_" Sakura heard Larxy threaten shortly followed by a sudden crash. Sakura followed the sounds that lead her to an old abandoned warehouse with the door left ajar and shrieks of battle cries and objects breaking came from inside. The black bicycle had crashed in front the wooden warehouse where colorful graffiti was splattered everywhere and the windows either cracked or had large gaping holes. The peddles on the bicycle were still turning.

_How did they find them so fast? _Sakura couldn't help but wonder. Suddenly, a window from the second story shattered and a falling body tumbled to the ground. Sakura could hear the victim's last gasping breath before their body began to vaporizing in dark shadows, forever leaving this world. A familiar laugh chuckled from the window.

"Heh. One down." Avery said, placing his long sword back into it's sheath. He was covered in gold and black armor, with his dark blue cape which draped down his back, and a tall pointed helmet protecting his head. Avery was in his dark form.

"Get ready!" Larxy warned from inside. Sakura entered, noticing the large vacant space inside the warehouse. Larxy and her target stood on either sides of the empty square. Behind either of them was a raised platform that went all the way around on the sides, and on the far upper right corner was the stairs to the second floor. There was a large hole in the roof between the two floors and there was a bunch of dust and critters around. It looked like no one has been inside here in years.

Larxy was slightly hovering in the air, centralizing her power between her hands. Her royal purple hair flying straight up like static. Avery jumped down to the battlefield from the floor above, unsheathing his sword, prepared to attack. The target on the other side of the square wore purple robes and his long black hair came to his shoulders. His face didn't show any fear to his opponents, but rather a face of confidence and trickery. With the snap of the man's fingers, four gigantic top hats with question marks on them swooped the field, blending into one another before forming a perfect straight line in front of Larxy.

Larxy had a look of bewilderment on her face, not knowing what to do with the four human-sized hats in front of her. "We each take one." She ordered, but Sakura had the feeling she wasn't referring to her, but to someone else - someone else that was no longer around. "Avery?"

Sakura gasped, stepping onto the battlefield. Larxy growled at her presence. "That man must have hidden him under one of the top hats."

"We each hit the ones on the ends then," said Larxy, but her face looked like she ate something bitter.

"But what if we hit Avery?"

"Just do it!" Laxry demanded.

Sakura took out her crystal blue wand and began warming up her wrists. It's been a while since she's really practiced her magic.

"Go!" Larxy shouted. A ball of black and silver streamed from her wrists as a ray of pink light liberated out of Sakura's staff, each hitting either end of the row of hats. Sakura's vaporized while Larxy's unleashed a agonizing scream and sent a flying knight to the raised platforms ahead. Larxy swore as she realized what just happened.

"Avery!" Sakura called, turning harshly to Larxy. "I told you!" Larxy's beady black eyes glared back at her.

The man in purple robes popped out of the hat closest to the one Sakura vaporized. He had a long turquoise staff in his right hand and pointed it at Larxy, but it didn't take long for Larxy to start powering up her magic, again.

Sakura positioned herself to have perfect aim at her target, and began to feel the power in her veins begin to grow as she began unleashing her dark power. Her dark brown hair slowly started to turn a golden yellow color, when suddenly the man in purple shot her a look with his piercing periwinkle blue eyes. Sakura stopped her transformation as she recognized who this man was.

_The answers are in the cards. _His voice repeated in her head. _The answers are in the cards. _

Sakura shot a look to Larxy who was about to unfurl the dark magic between her hands.

"Wait!" Sakura shouted and shot a curse towards Larxy who doubled over in pain. Sakura took the small collection of cards from her pocket and waved them stiffly towards the man with periwinkle eyes. Her face was serious.

"What are these cards?" She demanded. "Why do they look like us? What do they have to do with us?"

The man in purple retreated his staff, but his left hand stretched out in a friendly manner. His tenor voice said, "If you come with me, I'll show you the answers."

Sakura took a step away from the man. "Just tell me."

The man in purple lowered his arm and nodded. "Maybe . . . another time." Black shadows that looked like flames began to consume his body.

"No! Wait!" Sakura said, stepping forward with her arm outstretched, as if to reach for the man out of the shadowy flames.

"NO!" Larxy screamed, her left arm outstretched but with kill in her black eyes. The man was gone. "You _idiot_! I had him right where I wanted him, and you let him get away!"

Sakura began to stutter. "I-I didn't think-"

"Didn't think is right!" Larxy interrupted. "I almost had him. You ruined it!"

Sakura didn't say anything. She knew this time this was her fault, and Larxy was right.

"Avery, are you all right?" Sakura asked ignoring Larxy's continuous shot of insults. Avery had taken off his helmet, but he was sitting on one knee and holding his ribcage through his armor.

"I'll be fine," he said through a small grunt. His armor began to fade slowly to his uniform black cloak as he transformed back to his original physical state.

"Let's go home." Sakura said, putting Avery's arm over her shoulders and her arm around his waist. When Sakura finally looked up, she noticed Larxy was all ready gone, probably all ready making her way back to the shadow portal.

The two traveled back to the shadow portal in silence, walking past practically no one as they walked.

"I'm sorry." Sakura said finally breaking the silence.

"You should be." Avery said. "I told you to forget about those stupid cards. They mean nothing."

"You're wrong, they do mean something." Sakura said. "But not the way I wanted them to be. You're right about what you said earlier, how those guys will say anything to confuse us. That's what the cards are for. They're to confuse me . . . to distract me."

Avery didn't answer, but after a few moments of silence he said, "Don't worry, I'll handle things with Saxon. Just next time, don't screw up."

"I won't." Sakura promised.

_Just forget about the stupid cards. _Sakura reminded herself.

"Well, he-he-hey, look who decided to finally show up." Craig said with his arms folded across his chest and his back resting against the brick wall by where the tiny shadow portal should be.

"Where in the world have you been?" Avery asked, taking his arm off Sakura shoulders and began to stand on his own with slack in his posture. "Slacking much?"

"Slacking?" Craig questioned then laughed. "As if! I just eliminated someone."

"Well if it weren't for Sakura, we wouldn't have to come back to this city, anymore."

Sakura and Larxy starred daggers at each other.

"What more did you expect?" Craig said softly, opening the shadow portal and stepping through. Avery followed, but just when Sakura was about to step in, Larxy blocked her way, closing the portal behind her.

"What?" Sakura demanded, but before she knew it, sharp blowing pain seared from her ribs as Larxy kicked her, knocking her down to the ground.

Sakura noticed a group of college aged boys walking toward her general direction and clearly saw that Larxy had kicked her.

"Hey, do you think those guys are the ghouls everyone keeps talking about?" a soft voice asked coming from the small group.

"The Rare Hunters?" another asked. "Maybe. They kind of seem like it."

Sakura gave a confused looked. Were they referring to them? What are Rare Hunters?

"Don't look at them!" One said, punching the guy's arm. "They might come after you."

"I figured I'd save Saxon the trouble and eliminate you myself." Larxy explained slapping Sakura across the face.

The sound of violence caused the group of boys to turn, but one boy in particular started jumping up and down in one spot saying,

"I'm leaving before she comes for me next!" and began to run towards the opposite end of the street. Slowly, each of the boys followed suit.

"Aarrrgh!" Larxy shrieked, throwing a ball of black and silver magic. Sakura's limp body flew almost across the other side of the alley, skidding on her right side for a few feet. Blood was falling out of her nostrils, but Sakura was sure that wasn't the only place she was bleeding. Larxy stalked towards Sakura and stripped her of her uniform coat and said, "You don't deserve to have this." She kicked her one last time to her ribs, which caused her to roll, but before leaving, Larxy hurled a wad of spit which landed on Sakura's cheek.

"Let's see you crawl home, now." Larxy said. The sound of her shoes grew faint and Sakura could hear the sound of the shadow portal opening. "Baby." Larxy said before the shadow portal came to an official close.

Sakura laid there, hugging her ribs. How could she get home now? She could hardly move. She looked up to where the shadow portal used to be. It wasn't _that _far. Maybe a hundred feet. She extended her right arm towards the direction of home and began to scoot her body like a caterpillar, but when she got to her waist, her ribs stabbed her like a knife causing her to instantly lose her breath. She couldn't do it. She could not crawl back to the shadow portal. The pain was too great.

She closed her eyes, trying not to think about the pain. She heard footsteps walk past, but didn't bother to open her eyes to see who they were. She could tell the person broke into a run the moment they walked past her. A few minutes later, a new pair of feet shuffled by her lifeless body. Sakura opened her eyes just a cracked and saw a man dressed in a pinstriped suit. He sighed and pulled out his wallet, tossing a couple of Yen beside her, as if she were a beggar. She closed her eyes again thinking of how to get home before a Social Worker came and found her.

When she opened her eyes for the second time, she gasped, surprised at who she saw. The man in purple robes and periwinkle eyes knelt beside her, observing her wounds. Sakura swallowed, which had a taste of blood, possibly from her bloody nose, thinking this was it. Either this man was here to finally kill her, or he was going to hold her ransom for the others to find. Thing is, she was sure no one from home would bother to come.

"About time they finally let you go." He said.

The man looked up sharply at the sound of a kid laughing, and fled.


	4. Chapter 4

_**4. The Promise**_

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**Author's Note: This is a very short chapter. It is a continuation from the chapter before, so no new episode is introduced. Thank you guys for actually taking time of your day to read this. :) Have a good day!**

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"Aww yeah! Who's the man now? You are, Katsuya Jonouchi!" the boy said, kissing his new cards. "Heya, ha ha, with these cards, my gambling deck will be perfect! Huh?"

Sakura was sure this boy had finally seen her and was curious as to what he would do. Would he walk away like the others? But before Sakura even had time to blink, the boy was all ready beside her, observing the damaged that had been done.

"Hey, are you all right?" He asked, bending down beside her. His blond hair poufed out and his puppy brown eyes had a look of genuine concern for the girl. Sakura immediately recognized him as the boy from the Kame Shop; that boy, Yugi's friend. "What happened? Who did this to you?"

Sakura didn't answer.

_Just leave. _She thought. Before she could comprehend what was happening, Jonouchi had put her arm around his shoulders while he held her waist, helping her up with only her feet on the ground. Gingerly, he was pulling her away from the wall, possibly leading her somewhere, but Sakura forced her arm out of his soft grasp, and kept her other arm against the brick wall for balance.

"I can walk, you know?" That might have actually been a lie. But maybe she could walk. She just needed some way of getting to her feet.

"You're hurt." Jonouchi said matter-of-factly. "You need to go to a hospital."

"I'm fine," she lied. Now that she was on her feet, she was determined to get home by herself, even if it takes her all night to finally get there. If Larxy could receive a heavy blow from that man in black and still walk back to the shadow portal by herself, then surely she could do the same. Sakura wiped the blood on her face with the back of her hand and took three small steps towards home and she all ready felt like all her energy had been flushed out of her. Her vision became fuzzy with each step, and her hearing distorted, and before she even knew it, her knees felt like water and she was slowly falling back towards the earth.

"Whoa!" Jonouchi caught Sakura just before she hit the ground. "You need some serious help." He picked up Sakura on his back, walking out of the alley and back to the streets of Domino, walking further and further away from Sakura's way home.

"I'm not going to the hospital," whispered Sakura realizing this boy wasn't going to leave her alone.

Jonouchi grunted. "You have to. I'm pretty sure you're broken somewhere, and I'm thinkin' your head is one of 'em."

"I am _not _going to the doctor." Sakura demanded. Her rib spiked with pain as she emphasized on the word, _not, _but she did her best not to let the pain show. She needed to get home. If she went to the hospital, it might be days before they let her go.

Jonouchi growled. "Fine. Where do you live then?" Sakura didn't answer. She couldn't tell him to go back to where the shadow portal is. Nobody is allowed to see them transfer between realms. He growled again and began to change direction. Sakura didn't know where this kid would be taking her to. For all she knew, he could be lying and take her to the hospital, anyway.

"Why are you doing this?" Sakura asked softly. "No one else even cared." Those words seemed to sting Jonouchi. But whether or not he answered Sakura's question, she would never know as her consciousness slowly drifted away into a deep slumber.

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Warmth filled Sakura's body; her open wounds mending themselves back together. Sakura realized that she was sitting up straight against something soft and some sort of liquid was dripping from the either corners of her mouth. Sakura opened her eyes and was surprised at whom she saw. A man draped in a black cloak and spiky flame colored hair was tightening a cap on a bottle then placed it in his satchel; some kind of healing potion.

"Avery," sighed Sakura.

"Yeah," he said softly.

"How did you find me?" She asked. Sakura wasn't even sure as to where she was. The room was rather messy and smelled of rotten foot and sweaty socks. Posters of Duel Monsters hung on the walls and a soft breeze from the window that was left agape filled the room. The door to the bedroom was left ajar and Sakura could hear snoring from the other room. The last thing she remembered was being carried on that boy's back. Perhaps this was Katsuya Jonouchi's bedroom, Sakura concluded.

"Once Saxon heard you haven't reported back, he ordered all of us to come find you and bring you back. I noticed that Sorcerer was hanging around here, and I knew you had to be close."

"Sorcerer?" Sakura asked then realized he was referring to the man with periwinkle eyes. "What did you do to him? Did you destroy him?"

"No," he grunted. "That's man's a coward. He flees every time someone is close to attacking him. Now come on, we gotta get back home." Avery all ready had one leg out of the window. "Come on."

Sakura stayed put shaking her head. "I'm not going back."

"What? You have to. The boss orders it."

"I can't. Not until that man with the - the Sorcerer is finally destroyed, and I want to be the one that finishes him."

Avery looked at her like she was crazy. "Sakura, the boss orders you home-"

"Tell him that I'm not coming back until he's gone. Besides, I wouldn't be able to look at Larxy-"

"Just forget about Larxy and come home-"

"No, Avery!" Sakura almost shouted, Avery hushed her immediately. They both paused and heard that the snoring was still going on in the other room. Sakura continued with a softer voice. "I have to prove something to Larxy. And I'm going to do it by defeating him."

Avery released a sigh. "Sakura, you don't even know how to fi-" he paused, rephrasing his sentence. "You're just not skilled quite yet."

"That's not true." Sakura defended. "I have a spell book."

Avery chuckled.

"What? You don't think I can learn by myself?"

"Whatever," he said waving his hand. "I'll tell the boss your message. You do what you want. Just don't expect any help from anybody."

"I know." Sakura said. "I wanted to do this alone, anyway."

Avery escaped from the window and Sakura remained in the bedroom, quietly listening to the snoring from the other room. A soft breeze entered the room and a card twirled on it's corner before gracefully dropping on the desk. Sakura picked up the card and recognized it as the Dark Magician Girl, the card she felt looked so much like her. She glared outside the window. She knew that man was listening and knew very well of her plans. This was his way of mocking her.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

***Author's Note: Hey. Sorry for the very delayed update. School got in the way, and I haven't even been able to visit the site very much, nonetheless write. Anyway, because of the lack of time, I wasn't able to make this chapter any spectacular. (Very sorry about that! And sorry it's rushed.) **

**However, I really appreciate your comments! Without them, I don't think I would've put forth the effort to do a new update. So, thank you guys so much! It means a lot to me. :) **

**This chapter starts with Episode 54, and goes into episode 55.**

**P.S. changes have been made to the previous chapter. Please read chapter 3 & 4 before reading this.**

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Whatever Avery gave her, really worked! She felt immensely better. Better than when she left the Manse.

Sakura picked up the card from the desk and slipped it into her pocket. She couldn't stay here any longer. She had a mission to complete. She propped open the window and hopped out, climbing down the fire escape back to the streets of Domino.

Sakura walked the late night streets, and began to feel overwhelmed. She didn't know where to begin. For all she knew, the Sorcerer might not even be in Domino anymore.

But what if she did find him? What could she do? Fight? No. He was obviously stronger and much better skilled at magic than she was. Sakura began to regret not going back home with Avery.

When she entered the Square, she noticed a large gathering of people, boys and girls of all sorts of ages, standing around, as if waiting for something amazing to happen. Suddenly, all the TV screens around the city immediately changed. Someone had plugged into the system and now a face of a rather young man with chestnut colored hair that sat on top of his azure eyes appeared on the screens. The white collar of his studded jacket propped up just beneath his ears and his face looked both serious and haughty.

"Greetings duelist. Welcome to the town of Domino." The young man greeted on the screens.

Sakura couldn't help but feel that she knew this boy, even though she could honestly say she's never met him before.

"Listen carefully, Duelists! The day after tomorrow, a Duel Monsters Tournament will begin! But first! You must own this next generation Duel Disk." On the screens, he held up a small machine, hanging off his arm with a pallet split into five slots and a small compartment on top of the wrist, which was holding a deck of cards. "All players must play with an ante. Whoever loses must give the winner their _rarest _card." Murmurs began to hum amongst the so-called "Duelists." Just then, wind began to blast through the streets, and loud chopping sounds could be heard. A white helicopter with a KC symbol flew over the plaza. The young man that was on the TV screens was now hanging on a ladder, starring into the crowd of Duelists. He thrust his finger into the air with one final announcement. "Don't forget to register, because the day after tomorrow, this town becomes Battle City!"

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Sakura searched all night with no luck. When morning came, Duelists flooded all card specialty stores, stocking up on the strongest cards and beefing up their decks. Many came out wearing those fancy new Duel Disk systems, wearing them as if it was the best accessory item.

Still no sign of the Sorcerer or anyone of his kind. No one from home either. Sakura was completely alone.

By nightfall, Sakura began searching through the alleys once again, figuring that the Sorcerer wouldn't want to fight in public in front of dozens. The sound of giggling men caught her attention and when she turned, she saw robes fluttering from the corner.

_That must be him! _She thought. She pulled out her staff, preparing herself for a fight, but when she turned the corner, she was stopped by a tall man dressed in a purple robe covering his face, a shape of an eye was printed on the front of his hood. The man held up his arm and ordered her to stop.

"You can't pass here. A duel is about to be made." He said.

"What?" Sakura asked. She quickly took a look at he surroundings. Few others who were dressed exactly the same way folded their arms over their chest, waiting for her to leave. Duel Disks rest on each of their wrists. These weren't the people she was looking for. Disappointed, she turned to leave.

By morning she found herself walking along the beach, not knowing what to do next. It has been almost two days and still no site of the Sorcerer or anyone.

"I'm sorry, Shizuka," sniffed a voice not far from her. Sakura's eyes widened when she saw who the voice belonged to. Katsuya Jonouchi sat on the sand with his clothes torn and beat up. Something has happened to him, but she didn't know what. A part of her told her not to talk to him. After all, she did just leave his place without saying thank-you, or leaving anything for his generosity. But she couldn't just leave him there. Not since he so genuinely offered to help her.

Sakura walked away, not knowing what to do.

A sound of a motorcycle came roaring down the road. The guy riding it was wearing a black helmet and red jacket. He was constantly looking back and forth between the streets, in desperate search of something. Very faintly over the sounds of the roaring engine she heard the rider calling for Jonouchi. Without thinking, Sakura ran out in front of the motorist, causing him to skid to get out of her way. He took of his helmet, looking very upset and shouted, "Watch where you're going!"

"I'm sorry!" Sakura apologized immediately. The rider's brown hair was gathered at the front to a nice point. "Are you by chance looking for someone named, 'Jonouchi?'"

"Yeah! It's important. Have you seen him?" He asked eagerly. Sakura pointed towards the beach and without any hesitation, the rider was off running the direction Sakura pointed.

"Hey, Jonouchi!" he yelled. Jonouchi turned and scrambles. "Honda! What is it?"

"What do you mean, what is it?" The rider named Honda says, grabbing Jonouchi by the lapels and pulling him to his feet. "What are you still doing here? You should be at the hospital!"

Jonouchi pulls Honda off of his collar and falls to his knees, his fingers digging in the sand, as if looking for something precious. He was chocking back sobs.

"Jonouchi, what happened?" Honda demanded.

Jonouchi took in some deep breaths, trying to gather some words. "Last night on the way to the hospital, I was stopped by some blokes on robes."

Sakura gasped. _He found the Sorcerer! Where? _She thought. Why would they hurt somebody from the city? Larxy said that the other side doesn't bother with the people here. . . .

"I was stopped by the Ghouls," explains Jonouchi. "Rare Hunters who grab other players' rare cards and place them in their deck."

_Oh . . . _Sakura realized she was wrong, but she's heard of these "Rare Hunters" before.

Jonouchi continued. "I lost the duel, and they took my Red Eyes." Honda knelt beside his friend and tells him that a card is minor, and that instead, he should go to the hospital. Jonouchi rears up, angrily telling Honda to back off. "To me, my Red Eyes is the key to victory!"

"Forget it!" Honda shouts. "If you don't go to the hospital, Shizuka won't have the operation. Jonouchi, you have to encourage her."

"No, I can't comfort her right now," Jonouchi says, turning away from his friend. The very next thing happened in a flash. Honda punched Jonouchi to the sand, flat on his back.

"I see how you're connected to your cards," says Honda, helping Jonouchi back to his feet. "But I don't understand how you'd give up your sister for a card!"

As if Honda's punch as knocked some sense into Jonouchi's head, Jonouchi accepts Honda's extra helmet and the two hop onto the motorcycle, ridding off in a hurry, most likely to the hospital.

"I don't get it . . ." Sakura says to herself. _How can people feel so connected to cards, or other people?_

"And people like us never will." the tenor voice said.

Sakura turned and gasped. She whipped out her staff and pointed it threateningly at the Sorcerer. "You!" she gasped.

The Sorcerer didn't even seemed phased at the threat Sakura imposed. He looked at Sakura with his periwinkle eyes and asked, "so, did you figure out the answer to your question."

"Your answer was nothing but a distraction."

"Oh, I think it's much more than that." He said with a smirk. "Now, how are you coming along with your training? Are you studying your spell books?"

"What?" Sakura exclaimed. "Stop trying to confuse me. I know what I want!" She shot a spell at the Sorcerer who merely dodged.

"Obviously you need more time to think things through," said the Sorcerer opening up a shadow portal. "There's a reason why people like us keep coming to this city. Something very important is about to happen here. It's up to us to protect our king."

"Shut up!" Sakura yelled, unleashing another spell at the Sorcerer, who this time deflected it, right back to Sakura and fell on her back on the sand. The Sorcerer's body began to evaporate in the shadows.

"Come on, Mana. Not even you would betray your best friend." He said just before he vanished.

"What?" Sakura asked slowly sitting up, feeling slightly out of breath. "What best friend? And who's 'Mana?'"

Sakura put her head to her knees. How was she ever going to defeat a man that always flees at the slightest scene of combat? And why does this Sorcerer want nothing more than to confuse her with his nonsense? Sakura sat, contemplating on whether or not she should return home.

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**AN: Sorry, it's kind of an abrupt ending. But, next chapter I promise Dark Magician Girl will have an official appearance! *Pinkie Promise!***


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6. **

**Thanks guys sooooo much for the reviews! It means a lot to me! Thank you soo much! Here's Chapter 6. Hope you enjoy it. ****J**

**This chapter takes place during episodes 56-62. Yes, a lot, but it's only because those episodes all happen the same day (or at least they made it appear like that.) **

A loud booming pompous voice rang throughout city.

"Greetings Duelist, and welcome to Battle City!"

People within the plaza began to look around frantically, searching for the source of where this voice was coming from.

A large daunting shadow covered a large portion of the plaza, causing everyone to look up at a huge white blimp with a KC symbol and the words, "Duel Disk" largely printed in red. The blimp supported two large video screens, broadcasting the same young man from couple nights prior. Some people cried in fear, while others 'oo'ed and 'ahh'ed in amazement.

The young man on the screen laughed and said, "it's time to put your dueling skills to the test. I hope none of you entered my tournament looking for friendly competition, because Battle City's going to be an all out war."

"Oh goody," a familiar voice said behind Sakura. "Now we get to see what this game really is about."

"Craig?" Sakura said slightly shocked. "Avery? What are you two doing here?"

"The boss sent us," explained Craig very simply. "That Sorcerer isn't the only one of our targets that roams these parts." Both Avery and Craig were dressed in more casual clothes that blended in with the people around, instead of their usual black uniform robes. "He mentioned that a whole dozen of our targets would be around today, so we gotta keep our eyes peeled."

"Why today?" Sakura asked.

Avery glared at the boy on the large screens hanging from the blimp, his teeth were clenched and he had fire in his eyes. "I don't know." He said through gritted teeth.

"Only the top eight best Duelists will make it to the finals. Now, get ready, Duelists. Let the tournament begin!" The young man on the screen announced. The crowds in the plaza began to go wild, running around with their new Duel Disks trying to find a good spot within the city to duel.

"Where do you guys plan on looking first?" Sakura asked.

"Heh," chuckled Craig. "This isn't your mission."

"I know that," defended Sakura, "but that Sorcerer has be around the same area as the other targets."

"You're not very good at this scouting thing, are you?" Craig asked. Sakura grumbled.

"The boss mentioned something about that new museum place," said Avery, "but they very well could be all throughout the city."

"Let's go together then," suggested Sakura. "With the three of us, your mission will be done in no time."

Avery looked at Craig who shrugged his shoulders. Sakura took that as a yes.

"No faking out this time," said Craig with his finger in the air and leading the way. "We're here to eliminate, and investigate. Nothing else."

"Got it," said Sakura, just glad to finally be with a team again. She hated being alone.

All throughout Domino City, roads were blocked as huge clumps of people gathered in the middle of the road. From over the top of their heads, Sakura noticed monsters she's seen before in the dark realms in the middle of the streets, fighting and obeying orders from their masters.

"What the-?" Sakura said in awe. "What are those monster's doing here?"

"They're holograms, Sakura," explained Avery. "It's part of that card game everyone here has a fetish about."

"The game has a connection to our world?" Sakura asked, beginning to think back to the card in her pocket, the Dark Magician Girl.

"Just forget about it. We have a mission to finish, remember?" Avery said. "This is only a distraction. _Ignore it_."

_Right. Just forget about the stupid cards. _Sakura thought to herself and they continued to walk.

"The boss wasn't too please with you not returning home." Avery shared after a long while of silence.

"I know."

"And the fact that you have gotten no where in the past two days, doesn't please him, either."

Sakura looked at the ground, slightly embarrassed and ashamed of herself.

"You said so yourself, he flees at the slightest bit of com-"

"That's not the point," interrupted Avery. "That man is dangerous! You can't fight him on your own." Avery groaned and began to rub his right temple, seeming frustrated over something. He reached out his hand and grabbed Sakura by the shoulder, causing her to stop walking and turn to face him. His face was full with aggravation "Listen to me, Sakura, all though it may not seem like it, the boss has very big plans for you, all right? You coming out to this city looking for that Sorcerer can jeopardize the boss's plans. Don't you understand? You _need_ to go home. Don't come back to Domino anymore."

For a while, there was silence. Sakura didn't know what to say.

_I'm a part of some big plan for what? _Sakura thought to herself.

"Why didn't anyone tell me?" she asked.

"Because. The boss figured the less you know, the better."

"Why?" Sakura asked. "If I'm going to be part of some big plan, I should at least know about it, right?"

"Right," agreed Avery, "and now that you know, after today, you'll go back home and never come back here, right?"

"But if we destroy the Sorcerer, why can't I come back here?"

Avery sighed and rubbed the back of his head. "It's not so much the Sorcerer, it's the city. Domino isn't good for you, Sakura. It's a lot more dangerous than we thought, especially for someone like you."

"Why like me?"

"Because you're different!" Avery shouted. "That's why you're so important to the plan. Don't you understand?" Avery's breathing became very hard. Remembering that there were people around, he tried to collect himself back together, taking deep breaths and calmed his voice as he spoke. "If something were to happen to you, we might not ever get our hearts."

Sakura finally understood. That's what the boss saw in her, the day they found her and took her in to their team. That's why they didn't destroy her, like Larxy wanted. They needed her.

"Okay." Sakura said. "I'll - I'll go home."

"I sense something . . ." Craig said looking peculiarly up at the skyscrapers.

"One of our targets?" Sakura asked, also looking up at the skyscrapers.

"Maybe. . . ." said Craig darkly.

"Yeah? Well guess again, Roba, this duel's ain't over yet." Jonouchi's voice said. A large crowd had gathered to watch a duel taking place in the middle of the street.

"Come on," said Avery pulling on Sakura's elbow. "Most of them should be gathered by the museum." Sakura nodded and followed.

A tall long staircase poured out from the front of the grand white museum. An tri-advertisement stand showed pictures of a woman with dark raven hair, wearing a wadjet eye shaped necklace standing in front of some ancient relics; advertising for their new Ancient Egypt gallery.

"Wait," said Avery latching onto Sakura's shoulder again. "Let Craig investigate inside. We should stay out here."

Sakura obeyed and followed her orders. She began to study her public surroundings, and after what felt like a forever, she asked, "Does he plan on dragging them all out here?"

"No." Avery said as if realizing this for the first time. "Those cowards won't fight out here in public. We'll need to go behind." He waved his arm, suggesting that Sakura follow as he lead the way behind the museum.

A small group gathered behind the museum discussing something in soft whispers. Something about them gave off a vibe to Sakura that these people were just like her - monsters of darkness - their long anticipated targets. She pulled out her staff, refreshing magic spells inside her head. Beside her, Avery, now in his dark form clothed in black and gold armor and dark blue cape, tightened his grip around his long sword.

A woman from amongst the group noticed the two first. Her eyes drew big and she subtly informed the others that they had company.

"So sorry to crash the party," says Avery lifting his sword from his sheath, "but I have orders to take care of." With a yell, Avery launched himself into the air with his sword raised high, his attack barely missed the target closest to him.

Sakura raised her staff in the air to gather her magic energy building in her veins, when suddenly someone strangely familiar spoke.

"So it is true!" her voice was soft and majestic. "The legendary Sorceress lives."

"What?" Sakura asked blankly, forgetting that she was supposed to be in combat mode.

"You're here to protect our King," she says. Her gold hair came all the way down her back and her skin slowly turned blueish. She wore a long green dress and a silver crown. "I prayed that you would show."

"_Sakura_!" Avery yelled as he parried an attack from another target, one with pointy ears protruding from his blond hair and wore green and brown armor.

Sakura shook off her distractions and began where she left off, collecting her magic energy. Her eyes caught sight of the blue lady beside her. She had put her hands together and began to chant some kind of spell. Blue mist began to cover her and her ally's bodies.

"Get her!" Avery shouted, nodding toward the lady with blue skin as he parried once more.

Sakura directed her attack.

"Mana!" The blue woman stopped chanting and cried. "You've turned against us?"

Before Sakura could even ask what she was talking about, she released her magic toward the blue woman. Smoke began to cover the place, causing everyone to go blind for a short while. When the smoke cleared, Sakura noticed the blue lady still standing there, praying even harder, and the blue mist barrier around her strengthened.

A piercing ringing sound went through Sakura's ear, causing Sakura to fall to her knees, covering her ears as best she could. Avery had opened up a dark portal where terrible screaming fiends exited from, attacking the targets.

"FIGHT!" Avery screamed.

Courageously, Sakura removed her hands from her ears and pointed her staff toward on the targets and a ray of pink liberated from her staff and hit the green elf. A blue barrier surrounded the elf, reviving him.

Sounds of hysteric laughter rang in Sakura's head.

A soft voice, almost like a whisper spoke, saying, "In the world of Duel Monsters, the Dark Magician has an apprentice who inherited his vast powers."

A pool of black surrounded Sakura, swallowing her into the darkness. She didn't understand what was happening. She wasn't dying. She couldn't be dying. What was happening to her?

Suddenly, everything was black.

She felt power being pumped into her body, her clothes and hair slightly changing, and a small light was ascending upon her. She reached for her staff and raced towards the light, suddenly feeling better than ever. When the light fully succumbed her, she extended her arms, relishing in this new sense of power. She's done it. She has finally done it. She finally released her dark form.

"Take a look!" a deep powerful voice yelled. Sakura opened her eyes and her face was full of confidence. In front of her was a strange man in a red suit and pointy black and blue striped mask, looking terrified, and beside him was a grinning magician who looked very much like the Sorcerer she has been searching for, but he wore red robes, instead of the usual purple. Sakura could tell that something about him was different. He wasn't the man she was after, but the Sorcerer she was after, she could sense was near. "Meet, Dark Magician Girl!"

"Dark Magician G-G-Girl?" The man in the mask quivered, but then smiled. "Heh. She only has 2000 attack points. My own Dark Magician can crush her!"

Something was very peculiar with this setting, Sakura noticed. Here, she wasn't able to fight on her own accord, but instead had a master to guide her, and tell her what to do. She took a look at her master and recognized his tall pointy spikes and chain around his neck.

Not being able to fight for her own, didn't scare her for some reason, but she felt a great amount of trust between her and her master.

"Kill them!" the guy in the pointy mask ordered.

The red magician assaulted toward her, and Sakura raised up her staff, releasing her own magic. An explosion erupted in the middle of the battle field.

"I got her . . . !"

"Did you really?" asked her master.

"What…?" exclaimed the opponent.

Sakura remained standing tall, while the red magician dropped his own staff, and began to evaporate into smoke.

"That can't be . . .! My Dark Magician had 500 more attack points…"

"I'll tell you why," her master explained. "Dark Magician Girl's attack power raises by 500 for each Dark Magician in the graveyard. The apprentice carries on her master's legacy . . . And he watches over her!"

"B-but . . . There was only one Dark Magician card in your graveyard! Even with 500 extra attack points she should've only had 2500! She should have died in that last exchange!"

"Take a closer look. If you're a real Magician Lord, see the truth with your own eyes!"

The presence of the Sorcerer was very near now.

"M-my Dark Magician helped her?"

"Dark Magician Girl inherits the souls of _all_ dead Magicians, no matter where they are buried . . . _Attack_!" Her Master ordered. Sakura raised her staff one more time and released a powerful ball of magic toward her enemy, who wailed in pain.

Everything went black once again and Sakura could feel her features slightly changing back to normal. When everything came back to normal, Sakura found herself on her knees, clenching onto her staff and her breath was heavy. Before her stood the man with periwinkle eyes with a smile on his face.

"You did great," he complimented.

"What was that?" Sakura demanded. "I couldn't fight on my own, I had to wait for someone to tell me to attack-"

"It's like I said before," the Dark Magician said kneeling down to become eye level. "The answer is in the cards."


End file.
